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JAPANESE EXECUTIVE AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO PARTICIPATING IN AN INTERNATIONAL ANTITRUST CONSPIRACY

Would be First Japanese Citizen to Serve a Prison Sentence in the U.S. for Antitrust Offense

WASHINGTON, D.C.  Hitoshi Hayashi, an executive of the Japanese chemical giant
Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd., has agreed to plead guilty, to serve a three-month jail sentence
in the United States, and to pay a $20,000 fine for his role in a 17-year international conspiracy
that suppressed competition in the food preservatives industry, the Department of Justice
announced today. The penalties agreed to by Hayashi are subject to court approval. If approved
by the Court, Hayashi would be the first Japanese citizen to serve a prison term in the United
States for an antitrust offense.

The superseding felony case filed today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco charges
Hayashi, a resident of Japan, with one count of fixing prices and allocating volumes of sorbates
sold in the U.S. and elsewhere from 1992 until 1996, the time period of his participation in the
conspiracy. Hayashi has agreed to cooperate fully with the ongoing federal investigation of
anticompetitive behavior in the sorbates market.

"Today's charge demonstrates the Justice Department's ability to effectively enforce
antitrust laws across international lines," said R. Hewitt Pate, Assistant Attorney General in
charge of the Department's Antitrust Division. "We are committed to investigating and
prosecuting all conspirators, whether domestic or foreign, that harm American businesses and
consumers."

The conspiracy to fix the prices and allocate the volume of sorbates sold in the United
States and elsewhere affected nearly $1 billion in U.S. commerce, the Department said. Roughly
$200 million worth of sorbates  which includes potassium sorbate and sorbic acid  are sold
annually worldwide. Sorbates are chemical preservatives used primarily as mold inhibitors in
high-moisture and high-sugar food products, such as baked goods, wine, and cheese.

Hayashi was originally indicted in January 2001 along with three other foreign defendants
for participating in the sorbates cartel. Until now he has remained a fugitive beyond the reach of
U.S. jurisdiction.

Once Hayashi has been sentenced on today's charge, he will be dismissed from a January
23, 2001 indictment. The January 23, 2001 indictment will stand against the three remaining
defendants.

Companies from Europe, Japan, and the United States have already pled guilty to antitrust
charges stemming from their involvement in the conspiracy. Those companies were sentenced to
pay criminal fines totalling $132 million.

Hayashi is charged with conspiring to suppress and eliminate competition among sorbates
producers by:

participating in meetings and conversations to discuss the prices and volumes of
sorbates to be sold in the United States and elsewhere;

agreeing, during those meetings and conversations, to charge prices at certain
levels and otherwise to increase and maintain prices of sorbates to be sold in the
United States and elsewhere;

agreeing, during those meetings and conversations, to allocate among major
producers the volumes of sorbates to be sold in the United States and elsewhere;

issuing price announcements and price quotations in accordance with the
agreements reached; and

exchanging information on sales of sorbates in the United States and elsewhere
for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon prices
and sales volumes.

James M. Griffin, the Antitrust Division's Deputy Assistant Attorney General for
Criminal Enforcement, emphasized that "the Justice Department is continuing to gather
information about these and other violations of United States antitrust laws by international
cartels. Today's charge, and the cooperation that we will obtain through it, will enhance and
further our efforts."

Hayashi has been charged with violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which carries a
maximum penalty of three years imprisonment and a $350,000 fine for an individual for
violations occurring before June 22, 2004. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the
gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of
those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Today's case stems from a continuing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust
Division's San Francisco Field Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Francisco.